The Piano Lesson, written by August Wilson, is a production centered on the conflict between the contrasting views of two siblings over the fate of their family heirloom, an old piano decorated with pictures carved from the history of the family, made by their grandfather at the time when he was reduced to slavery. In Berniece's case, she wants to keep it as a testament to what her family experienced and sacrificed, while her brother, Boy Willy, wants to sell the piano in order to buy the land his family once worked as slaves. Wilson uses both the 137-year-old piano and the conflict in which it creates, to symbolize the connection to the past. The past was the main driving point that Wilson focused on in the Piano Lesson, as stated in the piece "What Do You Want to Do with Your Legacy, and How to Use It Best?" » (Wilson) Wilson said that his generation of African-Americans were taught very little about their past, because their parents thought they wanted to protect them, because their past was not very prestigious, this takes into account the piano. The piano was a relic from the days of slavery and served as a written record of the family legacy with its many scars and cracks, even through the ages it was in the family. on many different symbols in itself. In the beginning, the piano almost represented slavery in itself. The Charles family first acquired the piano from the people for whom they were enslaved by the Sutters. Robert Sutter traded Boy Willie and Berniece's great-grandfather and grandfather. the piano. The piano was therefore in reality an object acquired during human life. He treated life as if it were property, almost as if it were slavery in itself. The piano, however, was more than just a symbol of oppression, it was also... middle of paper... of souls. In contrast, his brother announces their past with pride and proclaims it to the world, believing that the world should know their story. The piano had in fact become a sacred altar for the dead. Berniece was aware of this as a child because she heard her father's dead voice every time she played the piano, which caused her to stop. She also said the piano sculptures would come to life and dance in the night. The piano spirits themselves represent the past as they are the literal physical manifestation of past memories. Berniece had tried to hide from the story herself by not playing the piano and hiding it from her daughter. At the end of the play, she plays the piano again, finally banishing the Sutters from her family's life. Boy Willie also agrees and thinks the piano is the key to strength in their family's life..